Boy, the past couple of weeks have REALLY flown. I can't believe how long it's been since I've written a decent post. Things are finally starting to smooth out, but the holidays are busy regardless of surgeries, etc. Dad is doing fairly well, all things considered. The week of his surgery was just a terrible week. For one thing, I was PMS. That NEVER improves things :-) Second, I was dealing with all the "stuff" surrounding his surgery: my feelings about him, my feelings about this surgery and all the work the surgery created for Mom and I. Every day that week, I got up, went to work, went home and either took a shower OR ate dinner (not both), picked up my mom, drove to the hospital, sat with Dad all evening, took Mom back to her home, drove back to my home, packed lunch/laid out clothes for the next day, then went to bed. Rinse, lather, repeat. Every day. There was not one free minute that entire week, and I am a girl that loves and values her free time. Third, I was dealing with my cat. My Christmas present from Mark last year was a kitten. And I do love her. She drives me somewhat crazy, but I do love her. How could you not love this?

We went and got her the week before Christmas last year and we thought we'd keep her in our dining room/kitchen area until we took the tree down after Christmas. We thought it would be better to introduce her to a small area first, and it would keep her away from the Christmas tree. Well, she was a determined little bugger and by the end of the first evening, in her desperation to spend every single moment with us, she had found a way to escape the kitchen/dining room area. And over the next few days proceeded to wreak havoc on the tree. I am very sentimental about Christmas, even though I am no longer Christian (yes, I know this is extremely hypocritical, I don't care). My mom always made Christmas SO special, and we have so many traditions surrounding it, and those things are very important to me. One of my favorite things about Christmas is the tree. We have an artificial tree and it is the one that my grandparents used, they gave it to my mom when she moved out and she used it until I moved out, and that's when she gave it to me. The tree skirt was hand-made by my paternal grandmother. We have ornaments from both of my parents' childhoods, ornaments from my childhood, and Mark and I have exchanged ornaments every Christmas that we've been together. I know it is just a THING and that I am very superficial to invest so much into an object, but again, I don't care. It is very special to me. So, when we had to take the tree down before Christmas last year because of the kitten, I was heartbroken. And this year, I was hoping against hope that she had "grown up" enough to not destroy the tree. So, we started just by putting the tree itself up, no lights or ornaments or tree skirt, just to see how she would handle it. And the first couple of days she was fine, she was just curious about it and liked hanging out under it. I was beginning to feel like maybe she was "over it" and maybe we could decorate. But, soon enough she started trying to climb it, bend the branches, etc. Again, I was heartbroken, and this time I had PMS and Dad's surgery to add to the mix. I really felt like my Christmas was being taken away. But I took the tree down and had a good long cry over it and tried to soldier on.

But here's the good part. Mark was so upset for me and was trying to come up with alternatives, but there was really nothing else to do, short of locking the cat in the kitchen for the next two weeks. We weren't going to get to see each other on St. Nick's day since I worked during the day and he worked the evening, so we were going to celebrate the next day. When I got home from work that night, he told me that St. Nick had filled my shoes and they were in the bedroom. I told him to hang on while St. Nick filled his shoes and I would call him in to the bedroom when they were filled. So, I go into the bedroom and there was the tree! He had moved his dresser out of the room to make room for it. He had the lights in the bedroom off and the tree lights on. It was so beautiful! A lit Christmas tree in a dark room is so magical to me. I just burst into tears. It was so kind and thoughtful of him, and it was a bright spot in a terrible week. Through the whole crappy week, he was so wonderful and supportive and understanding, but this went beyond. I just feel so blessed to get to spend my life with such a wonderful man. The tree takes up about all the walking space in the bedroom, but it's worth it. And look at the ornament he got me:

A knitting s'mores snowman (who appears to be using redheart, but I'll forgive that). I don't mean to get too goopity-schmoopity, but I am one lucky girl. I am blessed in many, many, many ways, but one of the biggest is having such a wonderful partner to share my life with. Merry Christmas, baby.

Aw. What a sweet kitty! :-) I have never been successful with the "keep cat in limited area" method of acclimatizing. Every cat we've ever had has been desperate to explore and sniff every inch of the house the minute it escaped the Dreaded Cat Carrier. ;-)

And the pagan origins of the holiday were around long before Christianity, so go on and enjoy your tree and the lights and the feasting and drinking. No need to feel hypocritical about celebrating the return of the light!